Following a massive solar flare observed by Richard Carrington, the most intense geomagnetic storm in recorded history struck Earth. Brilliant, multi-colored auroras erupted globally, visible as far south as the Caribbean and Rome, Italy, and were so incredibly bright that birds began singing and people could read newspapers by the light alone. The storm caused widespread failures in the global telegraph network, shocking operators and setting fire to telegraph paper, demonstrating humanity's growing vulnerability to space weather.

This terrifyingly beautiful sky display inspired a flurry of nature poetry and philosophical essays regarding the hidden, electrical powers of the planet. It provided poets with a fresh technological vocabulary to describe the sublime and volatile forces of the cosmos.